Eating and Proclaiming Christ, among the Nations

Psalm 96:3 - Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

This table, this worship service, is not meant as a place to hide from the world, to keep them from knowing what is going on here.  To keep us safe from their prying eyes.  No, this table is set in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23).  We proclaim His death until He comes.  We still have the world, the flesh, and the devil opposing us as we follow Jesus Christ.  But this table is the best way to arm ourselves with the mind of Christ (1 Peter 4:1), to prepare for trouble.  He made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us to God.  Surely, we can make lesser sacrifices for Him.

And, as a result of His sacrifice, He has received the ultimate exaltation and blessing as a result.  We too will be blessed and exalted with life and reward as we trust and follow Him.

2/13/22

What Is Our Misery?

In a moment we’ll read the catechism (Westminster Shorter, 17-19), which reminds us that our situation is one of sinfulness, and one of misery.  We are guilty, and we lack the righteousness we need to be accepted by the holy God.  Our misery is that we have lost communion with God.  That’s the biggest one, and why communion on the Lord’s Day is such a big deal – our relationship with God has been restored in Christ, thank God.  But it is important to recall that apart from Christ, all men remain under God’s wrath, and under His curse.  We are consigned fairly to death and hell forever.

Romans 1:18-21 tells us that we deserve this, since He makes Himself known well enough for us to be guilty when we turn from Him.  We refuse to glorify Him or thank Him, for our life and all His gifts.  And this is a damnable offense.

This reminds us of our need to confess our sins.

2/13/22

Romans 1:18-21

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q17. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A17. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.

 

Q18.  Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto

         man fell?

A18.  The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell consists in

the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all transgressions which proceed from it.

 

Q19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?

A19. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are

under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever.

A Pastoral Letter on Tithing

Hi Jake,

You asked about tithing, now that you "have a church."

Please share this with Sherrie, and talk about it together!

1. Theology of tithing

 - Scripture

Deuteronomy 14:22-27

2 Corinthians 9

 - Required?

Those who make more of a contrast between Old and New testaments, usually assert that 2 Cor. 9 overrides the requirement of a tithe.  Give what you are led to give, without any mandated percentage.

Reformed theology, which holds OT and NT more closely together, tends to say the tithe requirement is still applicable.  My view is the latter, but I don't press it with those who genuinely read the Bible the other way.

 - to church?

Your podcast friend is right.  Your tithe should go to the priest/temple (in the Old Testament) - now to the place where you are pastored and taught and fed (1 Cor 9:13-14).  Not to a parachurch ministry.  Again, you don't have to be over-scrupulous about this.  There have been times we've given about 8-9% to church, and 1% to some other missionary or ministry.  But the goal - achievable in the near-term! - is "Tithes and offerings:"  10% to church for sure, then whatever more you can and want to give to church or other places.  Lots of people give lip service to how important the church is, but the vast majority of their giving goes elsewhere.

2. Cool liturgy connections

It is from the Deuteronomy 14 passage above that we derive our offering practice.

The offerings are given to the priest, and transformed by him/Jesus/God, through a sacrifice not our own, into a feast that God gives us to eat.  So we bring the offering forward, while singing "Lamb of God," put it on the communion table, and then proceed to the feast of Communion.  In the OT, the animal was divided up among the worshiper, the priest, and the poor.  Our offerings are the same: some goes to pay for the communion supplies, some to the benevolence fund, some to missionaries, and some to the pastor!  Our yearly budget is coming out soon, where we plan this out.

3. Starting, practically

I would not feel the need to tithe on past income received, as you wondered.  Just start now, with the next checks you receive.  Make it cash flow based.  If you get a direct deposit or check, write a check for 10% of it right away to church.  This is the "firstfruits" principle.  God gets the first 10%, not whatever is left.  Giving each time you come to church is a good practice - see Psalm 96:8 and 1 Cor. 16:2.  I get paid monthly, so we divide by 4/5 Sundays in the week, to give weekly.  Others give as often as they get paid.

4. Starting smaller?

Many people have a really tight budget that would make it a burden to go from zero to tithing 10% immediately.  It's okay to start smaller until you can find more room.  5%, 3%?  The amount isn't important at first, so much as just to get in the practice of giving.  But I would urge getting to 10% as quickly as feasible, without breaking important financial commitments.

5. Direct Deposit mechanics

Many people prefer to give online today.  I mildly lean against this.  As we should worship in person, physically, so we probably should give physically, too.  "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service/worship" (Rom 12:1-2).  So, if you're making the effort to get to church on time and present your bodies, it's a bit incongruous to try to be ultra convenient regarding the offering online.  But, then again, many people don't bother with checks at all anymore.  Cash is an option, but then there is no record of giving, for a tax deduction, which I find very reasonable to claim (the deduction increased substantially for 2021).  And you ARE presenting your bodies before the Lord, and the offering is happening corporately, so it's not a huge deal.  It can be a burden on small churches without the online giving capacity, but members can usually set up payment with their own bank, too, I understand.

6. Tithe on net or gross income?

This is a perennial stickler of a question.  Many are exasperated by it - such a minor question.  But you do want to be clear in your conscience that you are meeting God's standard in this (Malachi 3:8!).

I would advise starting with net, to keep it simple.  You might be of a mind just to stay there, as delving further into details may be "straining out gnats."  

But some of those details would be:

1 - I wouldn't tithe on retirement contributions.  Plan to tithe on those when you receive them.  Or tithe on them now, and don't when you receive them.  No need to tithe both times.

2 - Taxes: 

a. The argument to tithe on net income.

Your "increase" is what the gov't lets you keep.

Tithe on net throughout the year, and if you get a refund, tithe on that, since you didn't before.

b. The argument to tithe on gross income

God gets his tithe before the government gets their cut (even though they scheme to get their cut first, via withholdings!).

Tithe on gross throughout the year, checking your pay stubs.

If you get a refund, tithe nothing, as you've already paid on it.

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an astonishingly excellent book. A must-read for every pastor, professor, and Christian who can follow his writing.

Trueman writes with a fairly academic tone, which won’t reach the uninterested masses. But the deliberate Christian with a high school, or some college, education can learn a TON here, if they work at it.

The basic thesis is that we have come to think of ourselves as defined by our feelings. We are expressive individualists. As Justice Anthony Kennedy famously put it in an awful SCOTUS ruling, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”

Trueman dissects where this crazy idea came from, how it has gotten us to transgenderism and other nightmares, and where it may take us. Hint: twitter mobs, woke-ism, and cancel culture are all the result of this.

Only GOD defines our “concept of existence,” since He made us. Our elites now consciously reject this. But Trueman deals deftly, not just ranting against our elites, but diagnosing how each of us think and feel this way, as a result of absorbing this nonsense from our culture (TV, movies, etc.). Many Christians in otherwise conservative churches, see their own feelings and sensitivities as the center of the moral universe. If I am offended, that is the end and focus of the matter. Never mind that my feelings may be askew, and need moderating or correcting.

Please, please, please, pick up this book and study it. It is a marvelous blend of history applied to where we are culturally now. Historical perspective is important for any question, and Carl Trueman delivers in spades, here!

View all my reviews

Covid Response // Jan 6 as Pretext for Revolution // Help for the Discouraged

 I found the article "Needle Points" very informative regarding society's covid response.  A solid, reasonable argument for the vax reluctant from a vaccinated psychiatrist, which diagnoses the hysteria on both sides of the issue.  It is also on Jordan Peterson's podcast in audio form.  It is well worth your time.

Carl Trueman gets it right, on the Jan. 6 riot.  I highly commend World Opinion and anything Trueman writes.

Deep encouragement here!  If you are discouraged by your situation, Samaritan Ministries offers counsel with this article.  Satan uses illusion and fear to take our eyes off of Jesus.  Don't let him.

On the Death of a Mentor in the Faith

There have been many tributes to Gregg Strawbridge online.

I’d like to take a different approach here.

What urgency does Pastor Gregg Strawbridge’s death bring to mind for us, as Christians, and as church leaders?

 

1. Our mortality.

Gregg’s death was sudden.  He had heart issues years earlier and was more health conscious when I was closer to him 5-7 years ago.  He was a regular at the gym for years.  I believe our health choices make some difference, but God calls us home on HIS time.  We cannot delay it by being more health conscious.  This is not an argument to be slack as stewards of our bodies.  Gregg was at the GYM when he died.  But if it is God’s time for us, then it is His time.  They say we tend to over-estimate how much we can accomplish in a year, but under-estimate how much we can accomplish in 5 years.  I would add that God may take us home at year 3, so we need to hold our plans and earthly goals loosely.  Pastors should have as one of their long term aims in ministry, to help their people think biblically about the death of loved ones, and to prepare them for their own death.

 

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).

 

 

2. Our rising leaders.

Gregg was passionately motivated to train new leaders for the ministry.  At our council meeting three months ago, he gathered for a picture with (by my count) 12 ministerial students, SIX of whom are now CREC pastors.  He trained and mentored these men virtually single-handedly – what a fruitful ministry!

 

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

 

 

3. Our unity 

Gregg was immersed in theological debates.

Infant baptism with James White.  Federal Vision, between James Jordan and Douglas Wilson.

Sometimes he asserted his views, regarding post-millennialism, and paedo-baptism.

Sometimes he called for unity among differences – “we don’t have to divide over this!”

He was always expositional and conciliatory, which was a real blessing to the church.

 

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).

 

Whatever your church background, consider these three things.

They are deeply important to our spiritual life together.

News. And Expectation. The Gospel.

 Isa 52:7-10

The Gospel is news.  The announcement of peace.  It has been done.  3 times in 3 lines: God has comforted, has redeemed, has laid bare His arm.  Your redemption was accomplished 2000 years ago on a Roman cross, in history as plain and clear as the newspapers print what happened yesterday.  But the next line of Isa 52 flips to the future.  All the ends of the earth WILL see God’s salvation.  It is still ahead for us to see our Savior.  The Spirit applies our redemption now, giving us the eyes of faith to see the light, to see Jesus in this bread and wine, shining with all the mercy and truth of God’s holiness and grace upon you.

Communion Exhortation

1/16/22

Epiphany - light to fix things

 John 3:19-21

When you have to fix or clean something in your home, you want to get some light on it to see what you’re doing.  When God comes to restore the human race in Christ, He shines a light on us.  In our unbelief, we scurry away back into the shadows.  It’s like refusing to go to the doctor when you know you’re sick.  You just hope it’ll go away.  But the best thing to do is submit yourself to the bright lights of the operating room.  Let them put you under; let the doc do His work while you are passed out.  Come to the light; expose your situation to the great physician so He can operate.

Call to confession

1/16/22

For young bucks, new Reformed converts, red-pill Masculinists, and anti-Woke Warriors

I’ve had several encounters recently with you, and it seems a few common exhortations to you are needed.  Here they are, with a brief qualifier.  

There are more important issues you’re missing.

Besides what’s burning you up.  Beyond what you are changing your mind on right now.

Whether it's paedo-baptism, eschatology, covid restrictions, woke Marxism, or Christian masculine responsibility, realize that there are other aspects of the faith that are MORE foundational.  Getting involved in a local church and letting it shape you is probably the best thing for you.  Don't define your faith or your identity overly much by one of the issues above.

Learn about recent forefathers in the faith. 

James Boice, RC Sproul, JI Packer, Elizabeth Eliott, to name a few.  We stand on their shoulders.  We learned precious things from them about thinking Christianly in response to our culture.  They responded SO much better than most Christians are doing today!  To be a bit cynical, living podcasters and writers you are following are building and maintaining their platforms and followers.  They are prone to be too reactive to current events, when what we often need is a better understanding of theology, worship, the Bible, parenting, etc.  Follow the trail to who they learned from and read broadly, instead of just following a few FB feeds or podcasts.  Listen to your forefathers and elders in the faith before you spout off.  Give as much of your study time to Augustine, Calvin, and Luther, as you do to James White or Doug Wilson.

Get off social media and read.

Get off your phone and open a book.

We are constantly talking to friends and contemporaries, and seldom consulting Scripture and our tradition.  Which is crazy since we have more access to the latter than ever!  It's also crazy because people around us are going more off the rails than ever!

YouTube and Facebook can be great introductions to solid contemporary teachers.  I’ve had people come to our church because of their YouTube viewing!  But to form your mind and soul, we must be people of the Book.  Read the Bible - it is God's preferred media: word on page.  Read a book for every 10 online articles you read, or every 10 podcasts you listen to.  Read an old book for every book you read.  Why listen to someone talk randomly, when you can ingest a wiser person who has culled their thoughts with others (editors) over time to publish in a book? 

Recent classics

Knowing God - JI Packer

Knowing Scripture - RC Sproul
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
J Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism

Old books
Calvin's Institutes
Augustine's Confessions and City of God
Thomas a Kempis - Imitation of Christ
John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress
John Owen - Mortification of Sin



This post was inspired by an interview with JI Packer by Mark Dever, about 30 years ago. Give it a listen here.

Epiphany 2022

Epiphany is Greek for "shine upon."

The star of Bethlehem shone on the magi, guiding them to Jesus.

Isaiah 60 speaks of God shining on us in our darkness.  Of camels coming from other lands bringing gold and frankincense to the Lord.  This comes true in Matthew 2's account of the wise men.

We sit in darkness without God shining light on us.  "God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

In common parlance this is called a "eureka" moment.  "He had an epiphany, a revelation," we say.  Yes, but it didn't just come to him.  God sent it.  Give thanks to God today for shining light on our thoughts, for revealing truth to us.

Those Magi, hundreds of miles away, read scrolls and stars, and God led them to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  In 2022, God will be leading you further into His truth.  (I'm sure He did this in 2021!)  

Will you hear Him and follow, as the wise men did the star?  It cost them a lot of time and energy, but it was worth it in the end.  Will you receive God's truth and change your life for it?  Or will it fall to the ground as you walk down your own path?

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.

 
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Twelve drummers drumming

Twelve Tribes of Israel

 
For the completion of the Christmas season, on Twelfth Night, we celebrate the twelve tribes of Israel.  Twelve is a number of completion and perfection in the Bible.  In both Old and New Testaments the number was preserved after adjustments.  In the Old, Ephraim and Manasseh each became a tribe, from Joseph’s one, when Levi was dropped from receiving an inheritance.  In the New, Judas was replaced by Matthias, to keep 12 apostles (Acts 1:21-26).  Revelation especially describes the perfections of God’s people with the numbers of 12 and 144, which is 12 times 12 (Rev. 7 and 14). 
 
As usual, God’s enemies like to mess with His gifts.  The holy fast of Lent was tainted by the immoral revel of Mardi Gras the day before.  All Saints’ Day on November 1 was corrupted by All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) the night before.  And so Twelfth Night became a festival signified by twisting natural things to the unnatural.  Shakespeare is the prime example of this in his play, “Twelfth Night,” where a woman dresses as a man, and a servant passes as a nobleman.
 
God’s perfect order is twisted by sin.  How is this happening in your life?
Singles delay pursuing marriage.  Men and women find themselves attracted by same-sex sexual desires.  Married people want out.  Men identify as women.

The siren song of the world likes to proclaim that God’s natural design is “boring.”  Giving it a twist would be interesting and fun!  Where are we called to stay with God’s order, and where does He give us freedom to be creative?  This takes wisdom.
 
The contrast jars me:

The 12 Israelite tribes on the 12^th day of Christmas.

And the Gentile focus of Epiphany on January 6.  

There is an order to God’s people, reflecting the 12-ness.  But don’t forget the unpredictable, untamable wildness of the Gentile inclusion among God’s people (Romans 11:13-21).  Magi from the east, after all!  

The church tends toward one or the other of these: overly particular order, or too-chaotic creativity.  Reformed types might emphasize our Israelite origins and the generational covenantal succession.  Evangelical types might stress that God brings ANYONE to Him – prostitutes, astrologers, tax collectors, etc.

Both are true, but uniting them in one body is our call.  Since Christ is our Lord, this is not impossible!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Eleven pipers piping

Eleven Faithful Apostles

 
Of course, there were eleven faithful apostles because Judas betrayed Jesus.  This is a sober reminder that one can follow the Lord closely and for a long time, as Judas did, but not be a real believer.
 
We don’t often think of the original disciples as gifts to us, but they are.
 
Most importantly, they gave us the New Testament.  In it we have a few crucial keys:
 
1.  History recorded.  The birth, baptism and temptation of Jesus.  His healing, teaching of the people, arguing with the Jews.  His betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension to God’s throne.  These are events they record, as history.
 
2.  The first responses of people generally, and of His closest followers, to Jesus’ teaching and actions.  Peter’s, “No, Lord.”  Nathanael’s “can anything good come from Nazareth?”  Wondering how to feed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.  In the apostles’ responses to Jesus, we see our own reactions to God in how our lives unfold.
 
3.  The meaning of Christ’s coming.  What did His death and resurrection accomplish?  “He reconciled us both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 2:16).  “He has canceled the record of debt that stood against us” (Colossians 2:14).  Romans is the classic example of this: bringing together the whole Old Testament with the good news of Jesus Christ.  The apostles explain Jesus to us.  They are His witnesses (Acts 1:6-8).  Witnesses who not only say what happened, but what it means.  Witnesses to those who already believe and read them (the Church), but also to the whole world.
 
Remember, these apostles worked and sacrificed to offer up this witness to the world.  They worked, in composing the New Testament.  Such writing!  Arranging words, Scriptures, thoughts, events, to show forth the glory of Christ!  And their sacrifice.  Tradition records that most of these apostles died painfully for their testimony.
 
What a gift of God to His Church!  Eleven faithful apostles.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.
 

On the tenth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Ten lords a-leaping

Ten Good Commandments
 
Recently my wife and I played a board game we got for Christmas.  The instructions were sparse and didn’t explain what the spaces on the board meant, among other things.  We made it up as we went and muddled through, but weren’t sure the game was fair or that we were getting all we could out of it.
 
This is how people live without God’s instructions.  It is a greater misery than we realize, going through life not really sure what it’s about or if we’re getting it.  Arguing about what’s fair.  God’s commands are a gift to the people He made.  Most see them as too restrictive.  We want to just do what we want.
 
Stick with the game instruction theme a minute.  Or assembling something from IKEA.  Half the world throws out the directions, sure they can figure it out themselves.  The other half reads the directions carefully.  There are pros and cons to both.
 
The direction-rejecter knows there is a greater purpose to life than rules.  That’s good.  But their over-confidence that they can figure that purpose out is their undoing.  Our knowledge of ourselves is not enough – we need our Creator’s input to figure life out.
 
The rule-follower knows they need help figuring out life.  But they can put all the focus on the rules and forget the bigger picture, as legalists do.
 
I encourage you to see God’s commandments as a good gift from a kind Father seeking your good.

Re-read them today in Exodus 20:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.
 
On the ninth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Nine ladies dancing

Nine Spirit Fruits
 
Galatians 5:22-23
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Faith bears fruit by the Spirit’s work in us.  God’s gift-giving doesn’t stop with the Incarnation of His Son as Jesus.  He gave Him as a gift that leads to many gifts: justified, sanctified, made like Jesus again, glorified.  Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is part of that.
 
I found it helpful when parenting young children through squabbles and spats, to stop them and simply ask, “Was that kind?”   “Was that gentle?”  We have a few targets we are aiming for, that sum up all the law.  This brings us clarity when we are confused or caught in sin.
 
Remember that fruit grows naturally from the tree.  It ought to grow naturally from the root of faith.  Not that you never have to work at it, or against sinful tendencies.  But if you find yourself constantly faking it, or ginning up the appearance of fruit, you may want to check the state of your heart.  There are seasons of pruning of course, but no fruit as a pattern means no faith.
 
When we see fruit, it is a pleasant delight and blessing, which God means it to be.  It is often easy to miss.  But the fruit of the Spirit remains a staple of spiritual life, not optional icing-on-the-cake.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.
 
On the eighth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Maids a-milking

Eight Beatitudes

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  
(Matthew 5:3-10)
 
In Matthew’s gospel, this is the first public teaching Jesus offers.  Matthew shows forth Jesus as the King of the Kingdom of heaven.  So He defines His kingdom here.
 
1 - The humble attain the kingdom.
2 - God’s kingdom brings comfort.
3 - It is a vast inheritance.
4 – It is characterized by righteousness that satisfies
5 – Mercy abounds
6 – It means purity, and seeing God Himself
7 – It means peace, and adoption as God’s children
8 – Those persecuted for doing good attain the kingdom of God
 
And, from the first word of each, the kingdom of God brings blessing.  We tend to use this word to mean general well-being, but let these eight characteristics define blessing more specifically and biblically in your understanding.
 
See Matthew 13 and 25 for other stories from the King about what His Kingdom is like.